Undergarment



H. c. owelsz. .-UNDERGABMENT. APPLICATION FILED JULY 24, I 9I6.

320,793. Patented Nov. 4, 1919. 291

HENRY C. OWEISE, 0F GHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

UNDERGARMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 4, 1919,

Application filed July 24, 1916. Serial No. 110,929.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY C. OWEISE, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Undergarments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to undergarments and relates particularly to what are generally known as closed crotch union suits.

The object of the invention is to provide a closed crotch union suit having an adequate seat opening together with a flap for closing the same, which will fit the wearer perfectly, will be comfortable, and-which is so simple inconstruction that 'it may be manufactured at small cost as compared with other styles of union suit now on the market which are at all comparable with my improved union suit, as regards advantages, fit, comfort and convenience. To effect the objects of the invention, a union suit embodying my invention comprises the various features and details of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, in which my invention is fully illustrated.

Figure 1 is a front new of a union suit embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a rear "iew thereof, showing the seat opening closed.

Fig. 3' is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the flap for closing the seat opening thrown back to more clearly disclose the construction of the garment as regards the seat opening and flap for closing same; and

Figs. 4, 5 and 6,- respectively, are detached views of the rear leg-sections of the left and right legs of my improved garment, and of the flap for closing the seat opening thereof. e

As regards usual features, not herein described in detail, a garment of my invention may be of any desired or approved construction and will be readily understood from the drawings by persons familiar with the art.

seam, said seams and the edges of said leg section which form said seams being designated, respectively, by the reference numerals 2, 3 and 4. The rear section of the right leg, designated 5, is also cut to form usual inner and outer leg seams, said seams and the edges of said leg-section which form said seams, being designated, respectively, 6 and 7.

The inner edge 8 of the rear leg-section 5 of the right leg, corresponding to the edge of the rear-leg-section which forms the crotch seam, is not attached, but is left free and is cut out on a curve to form a seat opening. In accordance with my invention, the curve of the seat opening extends from the waist line outwardly and downwardly to a point about midway between the edges 6 and 7, somewhat above a horizontal line through the upper end of the edge 6, then continues downwardly and inwardly to a point an appreciable distance below the upper end of the edge 6, or, what is the same thing, below the point of the crotch of the garment, and then upwardly and inwardly to the upper end of the edge 6, which will preferably be at the point of the crotch of the garment, but in practice and in order to avoid increasing the number of thlcknesses of goods. WhlCh 1t would be necessary to sew through 1n maklng up the garments, due to the particular form of closure flap which I use, presently to be described, said curve runs into the right inseam of the leg of the garment, but as closely adjacent to the crotch as practicable. The seat opening thus produced may be described in a general way as forming one complete end and side of a relatii 'ely wide ellipse, the major axis of which extends at an angle of about forty-five degrees to the vertical and the complete lower end of which extends downwardly into the leg section below the lowermost point of the crotch of the finished garment.

A common form of seat opening, now in very general use, consists in providing a long, relatively narrow opening extending from a point adjacent to and. in most cases, above the waist line to a point in aninseam *of a leg of the ga rn'ient from three to five inches below the crotch, it being necessary, owing to the narrowness thereof, to draw the sides of said seat opening apart in use. This is objectionable for the reason that drawing the sides of said seat opening apart will produce a pull on the inseam of the leg at the point where the edge or side of the seat opening is attached thereto, which will, in turn, pull the leg of the garment up, out of place, which, if it is not tucked down, will wad up and be uncomfortable. And the same tendency to pull up the leg of the garment will be produced when the wearer stoops or bends over, due to the lengthening of the back on account of its curvature. his objectionable feature is overcome in a garment of my invention by attaching the lower end of the edge of the cut out seat opening, into the crotch of the garment, or practically so, instead of into an inseam of the garment several inches below the crotch, as explained, whereby any pull caused by stooping over, which will exert an upward pull on the back of the garment will be transmitted through the crotch seam so as to exert a downward pull on the front of the garment, which is correspondingly relaxed, thus preventing distortion of the seat opening and disarrangement of the leg of the garment in which the seat opening is formed. 4 Also, when the wearer again straightens up, this will produce a pull on the front of the garment and through the crotch seam a downward pull on the back of the garment, which will automatically restore the garment to its normal position.

To provide necessary fullness in the seat of the garment, the upper edges 9 of the rear-leg-sections 1 and 5, which are sewed to the lower edge of the body portion of the garment, are cut on an angle so that, at the center of the back of the garment, the measurement of said sections 1 and 5 from the crotch to the upper edges 9 of said sec tions will be considerably longer than the actual measurement from the crotch to the waist line of the finished garment, which, when the garment is sewed up, will cause said rear leg-sections to sag and thus provide the fullness desired and will also opcrate to drop the extreme lower edge of the seat opening still farther below the crotch than as originally cut.

Also, in order to hold the cut-out edge 8 of said rear right-leg-section 5 flat and to prevent it from rolling up, which would render it uncomfortable to the wearer, the upper edge 9 of said cut-out leg-section 5 is extended somewhat beyond the line of the crotch seam 2 of the garment, as shown at 10, and is attached throughout its length to the lower edge of the body portion of th garment, whereby the sag due to the fullness )roduccd by cutting the upper edge 9 of said rear leg-section on an angle, as explained, will be downward instead of sidewise.

From the above description, it will be seen that a relatively long and wide seat opening is provided which is inclined and has one extendin down into one of the legsections a consi eralole distance below the crotch of the garment, and at the same time, said out out leg-section has an inner edge which extends substantiallythe full length of the leg from the crotch to its lower end. Or, in other words, the inner edge 6 of the leg-section 5 is substantially equal in length to the-inner edge 3 of the leg-section 1, so that when joined to the front leg-sections, the legs of the garment are closed along the inseams entirely to the crotch. A seat opening as thus described is always wide open, and therefore requires no spreading of the edges of the opening or stretching of the material in use. I

My improved garment also comprises a closure for the seat opening formed by a portion of the rear leg-section 1 and a flap 11 the inner lateral edge 13 of'which is stitched to the lateral edge 2 of said legsection 1 which forms the crotch seam of the garment. The lower edge of the flap 11 is stitched to the rear right-leg-section 5, the seam being indicated at 12. As shown said flap 11 is formed with an'edge 14, WhlCh is made as short as practicable, and which is sewed into the inseam of the right leg of the garment. This, as previously explained, is to obviate increasing the number of thicknesses of goods which it would be .necessary to sew through in making up the garment, if the inseam 6 of the leg-section and the angle at the inner end of the lower edge of the flap 11 both ran directly into the point of the. crotch, at the point of juncture of the inseams of the legs of the garment and the crotch seam. From its point of divergeness from said inseam, the lower edge ofsaid flap 11 is stitched along the free cut-out edge 8 of said rear leg-section 5 for a short distance, say approximatel four inches, to a point 15, beyond which point the lower edge of said flap is stitched across said rear leg-section 5, the seam preferably extending diagonally outwardly and downwardly so that the flap may be turned back to expose the seat openilng without having a tendency to pull or raw.

The top and outer edges 16 and 17 of the closure are unattached so that said closure may be turned back to fully expose the seat opening, and it is adapted to be secured in closed position by means of a usual button and button hole 18 and 19.

The flap 11 forms in effect a part or ex.- tension of the rear left-leg-section 1, which is also preferably unattached partly across the back of the garment. As shown, the upper edge of said leg-section 1 is stitched to the lower edge of the body portion of the garment for a short distance from the outer side seam. This construction will provide lOi ' fora seat openin of almost any size and will also provide or necessary flexibility of the garment and will prevent to a very large' extent drawing and pulling of the garment when the wearer stoops over. a

In the preferable construction shown, the

I rear right-leg-section' 5 and the flap 11 are so shaped and said flap is attached to said leg-section in such posltion that, disregarding the cut-out edge 8 of said leig'section 5,-

the outline of said leg-section and flap, when attached, will be symmetrical with the left-leg-section 1 when referred to a common center line. This is clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings.

I claim I 1. A union undergarment one ofthe rear leg-sections of which is cut' out on a curve beginning adjacent the waist line of and extending substantially to the crotch of the garment to provide a relatively wideseat opening an arc of which adjacent the crotch extends an appreciable distance below the lowermost point of the crotch of the garment, and a closure for said seat opening formed by the rear leg-section other than a lateral edge of which is stitched to the l teral edge of said closure-forming leg-section which forms the crotch seam of the garment, the bottom edge of said flap extending across and being stitched to the. portion'of said garment in which the seat opening is formed at thelower side of said seat opening, and means. for detachably securing said closure in closed position, substantially as described 2. A union undergarment one of the rear leg-sections of which is cut out on a curve beginning adjacent the waist line of and extending substantially to the crotch of the garment to provide a seat opening an arc of which adjacent the crotch extends an appreciable distance below the lowermost point of the crotch of the garment, and a closure for said seat opening formed by the rearf leg-section other thanthe cut-out leg-section and a flap a lateral edge of which is stitched to. the lateral edge of said closure-forming leg-section which forms the crotch seam of the garment, the bottom edge of said flap extending across and being stitched" to the portion of said garment in which the seat I opening is formed at the lower side of said seat opening, and a short section of said flap adjacent to the crotch of the garment being stitcheddirectly to the edge of the cut-out portion of said cut-out leg-section, and means for detachably securing said closcribed. V

3. A union undergarment, one or the rear leg-sections of which is out out on a curve beginning adjacent the waist line of and extending substantially to the crotch of the garment to provide a seat opening an arc of which adjacent the crotch extends an appreciable distance below the lowermost point of the crotch of the garment, and a closure for said opening formed by the rear legsection other'th'an the cut-out leg-section and a flap a lateral edge of which is stitched to the lateral edge of said closure-forming leg-section which forms the crotch seam of the garment, the bottom edgeof said flap extending diagonallyoutwardly and downwardly across and being stitched to the portion of said garmentin which the seat open ing is formed at the lower side of said seat opening, and means for detachably' securing said closure in closed position, substantially as described.

4. A union undergarment one of the rear leg-sections of which is cut out on acurve beginning adjacent the waist line of and sure in closed position, substantially as dc is stitched to the lateral edge of'saidclosure forming leg-section which forms the crotch .seam of the garment,v the bottom edge of said flap extending across and being stitched to the portion of said garment in which the seat opening is formed at the lower side of said seat opening, the upper edges of said rear leg-sections and of said flap' being cut on an angle, the relation being such that at the center ot the vback of the garment the measurement of said leg-section and flap from the crotch to their upper edges will be sufliciently longer than the measurement .fromthe crotch to the waist line of the gar- .ment to provide desired fullness in the seat of the garment, substantially as described.

In testimony, that-I claim the foregoing as my invention, I aflix my signature In this 17th day of J uly, A. D. 1916."

. HENRY C. OVVEISE.

Witnesses:

PAUL Hon v 'WALTER GUSTAFSON.

the presence of two subscribing witnemes 

